Bruised Hearts
by Silent Whisperer
Summary: Gaara and Sakura were both in love. Both of their hearts were shattered. Can they slowly try to repair each others? GaaxSak RnR! My second fic!
1. 3 Years

**_Bruised Hearts (A Naruto Fan Fic)_**

_**Chapter 1**_

_Hello and welcome to my new fic! I hope that some of you are reading my One Piece FF and no I'm not giving it up, I just am having major WB on how to write the chapter! (I have the ideas just not the words)! But to get my creativity flowing I have been reading other FF and a lot of the GaaxSak fics have given' me ideas! So here is the first chapter of a GaaxSak, romance/angst FF! Oh and pretty please R n' R! (The first couple of chapters might be a little short, fyi)!_

Sabaku no Gaara was sitting at his desk with paperwork piled on all sides, boxing him into a personal hell. He seemed at ease with his pencil flashing across the papers filling them quickly and efficiently, but his sand betrayed him. Bubbling and twisting around his legs in an irritated manner which made almost everyone think that it was a sign that the Kazekage was in a fowl mood but truthfully, he was shattered. Broken, crumbling, like sand slowly falling out of your hand and to the ground. It had been 3 years and many people though the mighty Kazekage would be over that tragedy but truthfully, he wasn't. It tore at his bruised heart day and night, and he couldn't even get away from the thoughts by meditating, they always came back, clashing in his mind. Sometimes at night he would sit on the roof of his building until he couldn't recognize his body for his own. It hurt him so but he had to put on a brave face for the day so he put up a wall around his emotions and if someone egged him too much, his sand would do the rest. He mourned her; he was mourning her for 3 years.

Haruno, Sakura sat in Tsunade's office, head buried into a medical book. She read and read until her eyes we blurring and she could barely count her own fingers. Here in Kohana everyone knew of Sakura's anguish. Sauske, he never came back from trying to defeat his brother and Naruto, her husband, forever gone, forever more. She had grown a little quieter, a little sadder but she still tried to act normally around her friends; Ino, Hinata, Lee, Neji, and others but they all knew of her shattered glass heart. To rid herself of some of the pain she dedicated almost all of her life to her medical nin training. Before Naruto's death she taught a class on quick medical healing and learning how to identify ailments but after he passed away Sakura gave up the class, the children reminded her to much of his smiling face and eyes that expressed all of his emotions and love for her, and her only. 3 years since he died, 3 years since she had truly smiled, 3 years of being inside of The Hidden Leaf Village without leaving, 3 years since she had lost her love of life.

"Sakura?"

Sakura turned around from the heavy book too see the Hokage in the doorway holding a bottle and glass filled with Sake.

"You're going to have a horrible hangover tomorrow." Sakura stated observing the Hokage's barely perceptible wobble in her step.

"Mn." Tsunade mumbled and walked over to her chair, draining the Sake glass in her hand as she walked. "Oh yes!" Tsunade sat upright and looked at Sakura. We are assigning high-class medical nin to work in the other villages since they are a little short on medics and also, we hope, it will strengthen our alliances with them. We don't want a war on our hands do we? Well anyway, you are being assigned to a village, the Sand village."

Now it was Sakura's turn to sit up, closing the book in her lap.

"You haven't left this village in 3 years Sakura!" Tsunade sighed before Sakura could say a word in edgewise. "I know you have had a very hard life and these past 3 years have been horrible but you need to move on! I've let you practice your skill but now the village needs you." Tsunade took a breath and added, hoping Sakura would be okay, "Naruto, he wouldn't want you to sulk your life away, he would want you to live."

Sakura stood up and turned away from Tsunade to hide the tears on her cheeks, she still hated the feeling of being weak, especially before the Hokage. She stood in the office facing the wall, shoulders shuddering for what seemed like an eternity. She closed her eyes and the images of her teammates appeared before her, strong, brave, and also happy. They had been worse off than she was now but they still were always happy, in that way, she was still weaker than them. She turned around to face Tsunade.

"I'll go."

"The Hidden Leaf Village…" Gaara mumbled, looking at the ninja before him.

"Yes Kazekage-sama." The ninja, who was called Sobishi, said. "We have lost many medics on the field for the past couple of years and The Hidden Leaf village has lent us some of their finest, including the Hokage's own apprentice!"

"Who is he?"

"Uh…well you see…" Sobishi uttered afraid of saying anything that might tip the already annoyed Kazekage over the edge.

"Spit it out!" he barked at the frightened ninja.

"Her, her name is Haruno, Sakura! She will be arriving by the day after tomorrow at the latest!" Sobishi bowed deeply as he spoke.

Gaara kept his calm demeanor but at the name of the girl he twitched and the pencil in his hand snapped into two pieces. "Go." he said and Sobishi quickly and quietly left the room in a puff of smoke. Gaara closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, 'Her? She was the Hokage's apprentice? Before now she couldn't even lift a finger to help her team, she was weak. Has she improved that much?' he thought then looked at the half of a pencil in his hand absently and set it down on the desk. What did she matter to him? Nothing.

"You're leaving?" Ino uttered in surprise as Sakura sat on her bed with Hinata.

"Yes, Tsunade's orders. I have to go work in The Hidden Sand Village for the time being." Sakura said hugging the pillow to her chest. She wouldn't have told them but they had come over to visit and saw her knapsack out and demanded to know about what was going on.

Hinata smiled brightly at Sakura, little did Sakura know but she seemed a slight bit happier than she had been for a long time. "I hope it goes well for you Sakura."

"Thanks Hinata." Sakura smiled lightly.

"What about me? Hello?" Ino said waving her arm in Sakura's face.

"You too Ino." She said then stood up. "Now I have to pack I'll see you guys when I get back from the village. If anyone asks where I am you can tell them."

"Alright Sakura." Ino said and pulled Hinata towards the door. As they were leaving her apartment Hinata said very quietly, "Be careful."

Sakura walked back into her room and opened her closet door taking out her ninja attire. She had decided that she needed a change in attire from her usual cherry-red dress so she had bought a new outfit. She slipped on the black dress of the same style as her old one. On the right side a pink cherry blossom was sewn onto the fabric and a pink cross on the back identifying her as a medical nin. She tied up her now long pink hair in a bun with a few pieces framing her face. She sat down on her bed and began wrapping bandages around her thighs and hands. As she carefully hung her leaf headband around her neck a hard knock came from the door. Sakura stood up and walked towards the persistent knock and opened the door to see Neji and a horrified Lee.

"Sakura!" Lee cried, "You are leaving me!" He was going to run to her but was cut short since Neji had a hold of a tuft of Lee's hair.

"You look lovely Sakura." Neji complemented which sent a blush to Sakura's cheeks, then he explained, "My cousin told me about your long term mission and Lee ran as fast as he could over here but now we can see that you were getting ready to go, so we will leave you to it." he said adding a bite to the last part of his statement for Lee's benefit.

"I am truly sorry for my rudeness Sakura. It was rude of me. I just wish it wasn't such a long term mission." Lee said as Neji let go of his hair and wiped his hand on his pants.

"How much gel do you put in your hair Lee?" Neji asked disdainfully which earned him an icy glare from his partner which made Sakura giggle slightly and smile her sad smile that she had grown accustomed to use as her own.

"We'll be leaving now." Neji stated grabbing Lee's arm and dragging him away from Sakura's apartment.

"Bye!" Sakura said and closed the door, walking back towards her room. Another knock stopped her in her tracks. "What now?" she mumbled and walked towards the door again. She opened it saying, "No Lee, I am not…" her voice trailed off when she saw Naruto standing in the doorway.

"I'm proud of you Sakura." He said not moving from his position in the doorway.

"Naruto..?" Sakura blinked and he was still there. Suddenly she threw herself at him and sank to the floor trying to hold him in her arms. When she opened her eyes to see his face again all she saw was her own body, on the floor, all alone. Her eyes welled up with tears, but she stood up from her position on the floor and walked back into her room grabbing her bag of medical supplies. Then she slipped on her shoes and walked out in to the cold night, to The Village Hidden In The Sand.

_Hey! End of chapter 1. Don't worry; the fluff will come when the time is right. Not yet, oh no, too soon. Well I do hope you are enjoying this fic and PLEASE R n' R. It means a whole lot to meh. ;) You guys rock._

_Keep It Real_

_Silent Whisperer_


	2. An Angry Demon

Hello again! I AM SO SORRY! I've been an idiot for not putting this up sooner… Brilliant excuse no? I know it is only chapter 2 but I am having a really good feeling about this and I loved that I actually got 7 reviews in 1 day! I know to some that might not seem like a lot but it means a lot to me! Also: _Italics_ are for thoughts and **Bold** is for sound effects. Thankies to: Astaildiarfreak, LostsoulofRegret, Mind At Loss, SweetAssassin, ever lost, EnV, anonymous, xXxAllMySinsxXx, mahoumahou, naruto'sgirl, WhenYouFell, TheEndlessSnow, and DudettRin101! Your reviews mean a lot. Well, here is chapter 2!

"I what?" Gaara growled menacingly at poor Sobishi standing in front of his desk.

"K-Kazekage-sama, I was sent to remind you that your presence is required to greet the arriving ninja from the other villages." Sobishi said shakily. Even after some time he was still scared of the younger than him Kazekage. Gaara took a moment to run his hand over his face, he had completely forgotten about that custom, which irritated him more even though he had only been the Kazekage for a few weeks.

"Fine. When?" he growled again.

The startled Sobishi could only blink but replied as fast as the words would come out of his mouth when he saw the infamous sand inching over the floor towards him. "T-t-tonight at sundown!" he said squeezing his eyes shut.

"Out. Now." Gaara said his sand rising quickly towards Sobishi, but before the sand could reach Sobishi he vanished in a cloud of smoke. Unfortunately the sand continued its journey across the room and attacked the first thing in site, the window. It shattered easily and Gaara swore under his breath, memories come back. He tore at everything in site, breaking, shattering, and splintering. Then he vanished from the room in his sand. He landed on the roof of his building; it was the biggest building in the village so he could see the entire village, including the gates where Sakura could arrive. '_Shit, this is pointless_.' He thought. He closed his eyes, folded his legs, and his breathing slowed as he began to meditate. After a couple of minutes he opened his eyes because he heard a slight sound, a dripping sound, and suddenly he saw her standing at a bridge, her back hidden in shadow. She turned her head and smiled, her mouth turning up and her eyes becoming a little brighter.

**Drip Drip Drip **

"Come on Gaara!" she said in a musical voice.

Gaara stood up quietly and slowly, for once an expression of shock registered on his face. "G-Gaeia?" he asked quietly.

**Drip Drip Drip **

"Hm?" the woman looked at him again, her ebony hair falling into her eyes and then she began to walk towards him. "Yes?" as she continued to walk her back was illuminated to his eyes. The sound he had heard, blood dripping onto the wooden planking, her back, livid with deep wounds, the weapons still stuck in her back. His eyes widened as he jumped backwards.

Then he was back. He sat, stone still, like a statue, staring ahead, in a state of sad shock, towards the gates, where an unaware pink hair nin was approaching.

"It's so quiet here right now." Sakura said to herself as she looked at the gates, solid but surprisingly unguarded. She quietly approached and gently pushed on the doors which slowly slid to show a crack in which Sakura slipped through. Sakura gazed around, '_Apparently they have been expecting me, and the guards on the walls completely ignored me entering. Now, where do I go…Should I go to meet the Kazekage?_' as Sakura stood lost in thought, her eyes blank, Gaara's clouded eyes slowly cleared and his gaze fell on pink haired ninja standing lost in thought in the middle of the street. As quickly as he could he gained his composer again and jumped lightly to the ground in front of Sakura.

Sakura, lost in thought, jumped at the sudden appearance of the Sand Master. "Gaara?"

"You're the medic ninja sent to look after the village." He said, it sounded like it should be a question, but he was merely stating the fact.

"I wasn't sure where to go." She admitted.

"Mh." He replied and turned around and began to walk away. Sakura, still a little unsure, followed Gaara through the winding streets and then through a moonlit park. Finally after a walk Gaara stopped at a building. He tossed her a pair of keys and turned back around and walked away from the building. She just stood there staring at his back, then she turned and walked into the building.

Gaara stopped after he heard the door close and lock. He remembered her, the weak pink hair ninja of The Leaf Village who couldn't do a damn thing to help her team mates…but she had been so cheerful then, now when you saw her eyes, try as hard as she could to hide it but they were almost empty. Then Gaara caught himself, '_What was he thinking?_ She didn't matter to him at all. He would just try to forget her being in his village.'

Sakura looked at the door to the apartment #5. She took her key and opened the door, the place with simply furnished. A black coffee table and a couch off of the small kitchen, through a door by the couch her bedroom and closet, and off of that, the bathroom. Sakura quickly stripped off her clothes and stepped into the shower, washing off all of the dirt and sand from her trip. Then she quickly changed into a pair of pink bottoms with a matching top and crawled in to her new bed. It was cold, dark, and quiet, she whished that Naruto was next to her with one arm around her waist, the other gently petting her hair. She curled into a ball and buried her head under the white blanket and finally fell asleep.

Gaara sat, back where he had been just a few minutes ago. He was confused, but he but he was also a little scared. Never had he dreamed about her like that before, and it was also when that girl from the other village came. He slowly blinked, '_Something seemed different about that girl, something sad._' He noted, then caught himself again and forced her from his mind. Then quietly traveled back to his home, which he realized was closer to her place than he had thought, and he didn't like that one bit.

Sakura yawned widely as she sat up in her new room. The sun was slowly creeping in and casting a faint glow on the curtains. She slowly crawled out of bed and shuffled into the bathroom, after a quick shower and a change of clothes she walked into her seemingly never used, kitchen.

"Who was the last person to live in this place?" she muttered and opened the cupboards. A vast space of empty shelves met her gaze. She sighed and checked the fridge, same as the cupboards. "I have to eat something!" she said to herself and went into her room for her bag. Luckily, she had an apple and some dried meat left in there; she slowly ate the meat while thinking that after she got acquainted with the village she would have to go shopping for something edible. Quickly after eating she grabbed her bag and emptied it out, but she quickly repacked the medical supplies, her white coat, and the apple which she decided would be for later. Then she headed out the door into her first morning in a new village.

She slowly traveled, after asking a shopkeeper where the hospital was, she finally made it to the huge building. As she opened the door noise hit her ears and she blinked, it was almost like the Kohana villages hospital. She relaxed a little and slowly made her way to the front desk.

"Hello, I'm the medic Haruno Sakura, from Kohana."

"Oh hello!" a cheery black haired woman stared up at her and adjusted her glasses. "I'm Haija. I work here but sadly only right here at this desk, but I know this hospital like the back of my hand so I can show you around if you like."

"Just tell me where the head medic is." '_I can't, I can't make new friends yet, I'm still not ready._'

The woman's face fell as she said, "Taknu is upstairs in the lounge, you should go talk to him there. There's a map over there that can show you where to go.

"Thanks." Sakura said and smiled her sad smile. Then she walked over to the map and found the lounge. As quickly as she could she made her way up to the room and entered slowly. The first thing that met her eyes was the fact that a very handsome man with a medic coat on was dozing in a chair. The nametag said 'Taknu' so Sakura, a little unwillingly shook the man awake. Slowly Taknu opened his eyes and looked around confused, and then he smiled.

"Good afternoon my dear." He said, his voice was very deep and rumbling, "How may I be of assistance? Did you wander out of your room and can't find your way?"

Sakura shook her head. "No, I'm Sakura, the medic from Kohana."

"Oh! It's you!" Taknu proclaimed clasping her hand and shaking it vigorously. "Allow me to introduce myself; I am Hakta, Taknu, the chief of medicine here at the hospital. And you are Haruno, Sakura, the one and only apprentice to Tsunade!"

"Yes, it's very nice to meet you Hakta-san." Sakura said.

"Oh, you can call me Taknu if you want, just not around the patients because it seems a little un-professional. If you know what I mean." Taknu said smiling. "Now, let me show you around the hospital, I will also let you know that you will be a stand by for the ER and also will take care of patients. You will look after the patients in the 3rd and 7th wing." He said pointing to the wings and the walked past. "The 7th wing is the last and farthest wing from the front desk, I hope you don't mind."

"No, I'll be fine." Sakura said her eyes darting over everything, memorizing its place.

"Good, and the ER is located right by the first wing here. You will be paged if your assistance is needed in the ER or any other of your patients locations." He said handing her a pager which she clipped to her belt. And finally, here is your brand new Sand Village Hospital Coat!" he said with a flourish, and produced a shining white coat with the sand village sign on the back.

"Thank you Hakta-san." Sakura said letting a small smile creep across her face.

"No problem, I love to help newcomers, especially when they are as pretty as you." He complimented. "Now, I'll start you off with 3 patients, two are in the 3rd wing and one in the 7th wing. Now, I must get back to my nap." Taknu gave Sakura the charts, kissed her hand swiftly and left, leaving a slightly worried Sakura standing in the doorway."

'_Okay, I'll just start somewhere. I'll start with the patient in the 3rd wing and make my way from there.'_ Sakura though weaving through the people in the halls, as she looked at the patient's chart she frowned, '_An attitude problem doesn't cooperate very well. Oh boy lets get this one over with' _Sakura found the room and quietly entered.

"Temari?"

"Sakura?"

"What happened to you?"

"Why are you here?"

They both waited a second the Temari asked. "This is the Sand Village, why are you here?"

"Tsunade-sama said that I needed some time out of the village, so she sent me here. Now, what happened to you?"

"Just a mission."

"What happened?"

"Why do you need to know!"

"I'm your doctor! I need to know what happened!"

Temari, a little shocked that Sakura stood up for herself replied quietly. "Gaara got a little out of hand."

"Oh."

"He went into one of his major freak outs and attacked the first living thing he saw, that was me. Luckily, Kankurou and some others were there and were able to calm him enough so that Gaara could get that Raccoon demon under control. I was hurt so they sent me here." Sakura blinked as she thought of the man that had led her to her home just last night. He was still so intimidating, he was still short for his age but he could poison everyone around him with fear. _'If only that raccoon could be pushed back, he could be a safer person…Wait,'_ Sakura snapped back to attention as her pager buzzed.

"Ak! Temari, I have to go but here is your medication." Sakura said handing Temari two blue pills. "It will make you a bit drowsy so don't worry. Oh, and do you know why it says that you're a handful on the charts?"

"They tried to practically stick a needle up my ass."

"Okay, good to know." And with that Sakura left the room. The rest of the day went by like a blur; Sakura tried her best to keep up with everything, even though it was her first day. Luckily, she hadn't had to go into any surgeries, but she was exhausted. Finally as one of the last things to do before she got to go home was to check on Temari again. Wearily, Sakura trudged down to the 7th wing and opened Temari's door, surprising 1 of the 3 people inside the room.

"You're that girl from the Kohana village?" Kankurou, the only person in the room who didn't know of her being in the village said.

"Sakura." Sakura said, stating her name while walking over to Temari. "Now Temari, tomorrow we are going to need to test your chakra and movement skills, just a little. So I would rest up so you can be ready for it." Sakura said while checking her vital signs and recording them on the sheet. "You got banged up pretty bad so I wouldn't worry if you can't move fully for a couple of weeks or so."

**SLAM**

Sakura turned around quickly to see the hospital door on its hinges and the third person that had been occupying the room, gone.

"Oh god, you pissed him off." Kankurou warned. "He's probably going to go destroy the rest of the hospital now."

Temari sighed and looked at Sakura, "Just keep an eye out."

Sakura tried a smile but failed so she turned around and said while walking thorough the door, "Kankurou, I think visiting hours are over and Temari get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow." Sakura quickly walked to her new locker and grabbed her medical bag, and then hurriedly she exited and weaved her way to the door and stepped into the crisp, sharp night air. She breathed in deeply and yawned, then began the slow walk home. It was very quiet all that was heard was the sound of her breathing, she hated it. She hated this place, she just wanted him back. Finally she reached her apartment and quickly fell asleep, not even changing her clothes.

The next few days were the same; Temari was recovering slowly, but steadily, Sakura's patients were all doing fine and people had tried to get to know her, but she just pushed them away. But, the one thing that bothered her was the growing amount of patients that had gotten hurt by none other than the Kazekage himself. After each new patient Sakura got a little more angry. How could he allow this, Naruto, he had a demon inside of him except he didn't go around injuring and killing people because of it. It was sickening and every night, Sakura would cry; because the demon inside reminded her of Naruto and it was also so sad and disgusting. Hatred grew a little more each day inside of her until she couldn't take it anymore.

Sakura sat up from her bed; it was her day off so she had slept late. She ducked down under the bedspread and pulled out a little vile, she got dressed and tucked the vile in a hidden pocket in her kunai pouch. Then she tied her hair up and walked to the door. As she was opening it she prayed for Naruto to be there asking what she was doing and where she was going, but no, of course he was not there. So Sakura calmed herself and took a breath, and stepped out of her safe apartment, to go confront Sabaku no Gaara.

_I am a lazy bum and am very ashamed that it took me this long. Well it is now 6:35 AM so I think I might go get dressed for my field trip today! Oh, I forgot DISCLAIMER:_

**I wouldn't be writing a disclaimer if I owned Naruto.** _There? Are you happy? PLEASE R&R!_

_Keep It Real_

_Silent Whisperer_


	3. The Aftermath & Thoughts

_**Chapter 3**_

Hola chicas and chicos! (I do hope some boys may read this)…Ah, well anyway I'm going to start this off with my thanks: **Sabaku-No-Ardent, LostsoulofRegret, ShinobiJiru, SweetAssassin, darkchild, Little Falcon, slaymyheart, and Hi Mizu Yokai!** I love the reviews; you make me so happy inside! Anyway, I hope you are enjoying this fic because I enjoy writing it!

**Disclaimer:** **I wouldn't be writing a disclaimer if I owned Naruto.** So here is your chappie:

"I would like permission to speak to the Kazekage please."

Sobishi turned horrified eyes onto the pink haired girl. "You what now?"

"You heard me."

"You are actually requesting to speak with him?"

"Yes." Sakura said, her blank eyes penetrating Sobishi's disbelieving ones.

"You can go right up…but you don't want to see him really…do you?" Sobishi questioned but got no reply for Sakura turned and walked towards the stairs heading to Gaara's office.

Slowly and steadily Sakura made her way up the long flight of stairs. She was scared, worried, and nervous, but she still moved she finally reached the top of the stairs to be met with a pair of huge wooden doors; she reached up and knocked, **Rap Rap Rap. **She waited, staring at the doors. After almost 3 minutes she heard a faint, "In." and she quickly pulled the door open to reveal his office. New furniture had been placed in the office, giving it a fresh, new look, but small pieces of glass and furniture stuffing still littered the floor. Sakura's gaze traveled to the desk where Gaara sat looking at a pile of papers, quickly skimming through them. As she saw him all of the anger came flooding back as her fingers balled up into fists.

Hearing silence Gaara stopped reading to glance up at the person wasting his time. He froze. Standing in front of his desk was an infuriated Sakura, her eyes boring holes into his own, his eyes quickly narrowed to match Sakura's. "What do you want." He was furious, not only did she barge into his village and take up room in his mind in which he couldn't shake her from. She had the audacity to come to him and try to stare him down with those piercing green eyes. "I don't like to repeat myself." He growled menacingly.

"You were only the same in one aspect."

'_What is she blabbering about.' _Gaara thought then sneered, "Who could be similar to me?"

"Naruto."

"That blond haired loser."

"My husband!"

Gaara wasn't used to being spoken to like this, but it made him angrier. "We share no qualities."

"So you don't find it possible that a bastard like yourself could ever be like my heroic Naruto."

Sakura was slammed into the wall behind her, her head jolting backwards and cracking on the wall, she tasted blood in her mouth. Suddenly Gaara was in front of her, his eyes wild with anger.

"Who do you think you are? Barging into my village and now this! Don't think that I won't kill you right here and now even if you are that drunken Hokage's pet." As he said that the sand crawled onto her hands and began to twist her fingers backwards, as the sand around her neck began to tighten. "Don't you ever speak to me like that again." A finger snapped but Sakura's expressionless eyes merely blinked. As another 2 fingers snapped a team of ninja ran into the room, grabbing onto the Kazekage as he was pulling his arm back to deliver a punch into her face. He tore at the ninja sending them flying and launched himself at Sakura again, but he was held back once again as Kankurou shouted at him trying to bring him back to his senses but the demon in him was rooted, and it was disgusted at that little pink haired pest, and he wanted her gone.

Sakura just sat there on the ground her left hand broken and twisted next to her; she lifted her head and said, "You both had demons inside of you accept one killed and the other saved. You killed, and still do." He snarled at her and tried to reach her but was cut short as she was pulled from the room and he was hit over the back of the head, and everything went black. The ninja in the room had taken his distraction as an opportunity to silence their Kazekage for the time being. Sobishi groaned as he ran into the room. As usual the room was in havoc; the Sand ninja knocked out or bleeding on the floor but surprisingly the all mighty Gaara was there among the men on the floor. _'Something must be wrong, Gaara-sama would never allow himself to be clobbered over the head, his sand wouldn't allow it either. Something is really wrong.'_ Sobishi thought fearfully biting his lower lip in confusion.

Sakura blinked, she tried to move but her body shot with pain. She was on her bed, a note lying next to her. 'Your arm has been mended but the pain could last a little while. Take the next few days off. Love, Taknu.' Sakura reread the words then crumpled the paper into a ball and chucked it into the trash. She couldn't take a day off of work. She just couldn't! She didn't want to think about, him, both of them. Gaara and Naruto, one bringing pain to the heart, and the other to the body.

"I told you to take the next few days off!" Taknu stormed as he found Sakura at the front desk so the hospital, picking up her patients charts. Sakura glanced over Taknu, grabbed the charts and walked past, ignoring the confused man behind her. Sakura's shift started at 11am and she was forced to go home 4 days later at 8 pm. She was working as hard as she could with an injured hand but still, people were worried. Sakura began to walk home but as she neared her home she saw a lone figure standing, looking up towards her apartment window. He jumped when he heard Sakura's feet and turned around to greet her.

"Hello Sakura-san." Sobishi said, the suddenly he bowed. "I came to apologize for Gaara-sama. Something was horribly wrong and I am apologizing on his behalf."

"Lair."

Sobishi straightened up, "Excuse me?"

"Gaara, he does stuff like this all the time, hurting…and killing. I work at the hospital, don't think that I am that naïve." She said her dull green eyes staring at the rapidly blinking ninja.

"As you probably know, Gaara-sama has a temper problem, due to…it." Sobishi replied slowly, choosing his words carefully.

"Bull shit. If Naruto could save and not kill with a demon inside of him, the Gaara should be able to too. Unless he is weaker than I thought." Sakura walked by the frozen Sobishi, the words had rooted him to the spot. Sakura turned and added, "You can tell him those words exactly, and tell him who said then too." And with that Sakura left the poor ninja out in the cold with horrible news to tell a dangerous person.

Gaara laid, staring at the wall on his bed, "That damned girl." He growled under his breath. Why couldn't he just forget her? The demon inside of him was screaming for her blood, but why was it so hard for him to cut her open and let it spill? He was tossing and turning trying to get into a meditative state but her audacity tore at his mind and infuriated the demon inside. He wondered why she caused such rage to boil inside of him just by staring at her. Was it because she reminded him of Gaiea or because she just wouldn't die? No…it was because of her eyes, her expressionless face wouldn't even show fear, it was just nothing. Her face as blank as a sheet of paper, he wanted her to show fear, to recognize his significance in the only way he knew how but she just wouldn't. He remembered from the Chunin exams, he hadn't paid her a second glance then, he thought she would always be a weak and foolish little girl, when she was as easy to read as a brightly colored picture; when she glowered at Naruto, fought with Ino, and even stared adoringly at that Sasuke fellow…wait…

_Flashback_

"Naruto."

"That blond haired loser."

"My husband!"

_End Flashback_

He had thought that she was in love with Sasuke. Since when did her loves switch…Suddenly he sat up, "Why the hell do I care!" he shouted. Then realized that back then, when he had insulted Naruto, was the only time he had seen a flash of emotion in her eyes, a flash of anger. Gaara sat maddened at himself. Why was he thinking about her, there was no reason to…was there?

The next morning as Sakura awoke, she looked out of the window onto the town, it was gray and rainy, looking as if a storm was coming. She slowly dressed, grabbed her bag, and headed out, without the use of an umbrella into the stormy day. When she finally arrived at the hospital she was soaked, she quietly collected her work from the front desk and headed off to the lockers to dry off. The women in the locker room clustered in a circle grew quiet as Sakura walked by. After everyone realized that she wouldn't act normal they had taken to talking about her behind her back, everyone except Taknu. He continued to try and pamper her, she would always find a way around it but he was persistent. As she dried out her hair with a towel Gaara was walking into the hospital, the last place he wanted to be but as a Kazekage he needed to talk with the head medic to see if everything was going well now that they had the new additions, walking down the hallways he found himself lost, angry his eyes blazed as he whipped around as he heard a voice say, "If you are looking for Mr.Hakta take a right straight down and its the first door on the left."

Sakura stood pointing with her hand in the direction he was supposed to be walking, held his ferocious gaze for a moment, then walked past him without a second glance heading in the direction she told him. He stood defiantly then followed her slowly she stopped at a door indicated Medical Chief. Then she said as the door opened and he walk walking in, "You might want to visit your sister since you're here, she is better than last time you 'visited.'"

The door quickly shut on Gaara's ferocious face and he wielded around to face Mr.Hakta.

"Is everything alright Kazekage-sama?" Taknu asked quizzically.

"There is someone you need to get rid of from this hospital." He replied spitting out the words.

"Who?"

"Haruno, Sakura."

Don't kill me for like the entire summer of not updating! EEEEEKKKKKKK! Sorry but the chapter is here now so I hope you enjoyed it so R&R peoples! Silent Whisperer


	4. Changes

_**Chapter 4**_

Hello! I have had to do science fair and tests and tons and tons of work so it's hard for me to get on here sometimes so I apologize.

Hikaru and Kaoru: Or are you just being lazy

Me: No, I am busy! I have a life; I don't dress up in costumes every day, like you guys, because I don't have anything to do!

Hikaru: Oh well…

Kaoru: stop bickering…

Hikaru and Kaoru: and continue with the story!

Me: Fine fine!

Let's start with thankies to the people who wrote nice little reviews. I didn't get vary many at all (a couple for chapter 2 and only one for chapter 3) and before I post chapter 5 I would like at least 5 reviews so tell people to read my story please! .

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anything else (including the song lyrics, those are Vienna Teng's) …even though I do wish wish wish I did.

Oh note: Hikaru and Kaoru are from Ouran High school Host Club, it's a good read/watch! I may soon write a fic of HikxHar so be on the lookout

SW

"What!?"

"Send her back to Kohana…I don't like to repeat myself."

"But Kazekage-sama! She is our best physician! She has only been here for 3 or so months and she may have a strange attitude, I do admit, but she takes remarkable care of her patients! She spends so much time here working it's as if she is inhuman to daily needs like sleep!"

Gaara glared at the physician, '_No sleep is inhuman'_, repeated in his mind as he said, "I don't really care, she is a disruption to Suna and makes many feel very uncomfortable and she must leave. Now."

"But she is such a help and I know that you Kazekage-sama"

"NOW!" he roared in fury slamming his hand down onto the desk in front of him, it split like a pencil being snapped in half, papers and pieces of wood went flying everywhere, one even lodged in Gaara's hand but his face showed no pain as he wrenched it out and flung it over his shoulder.

'_Why didn't the shukaku protect him, this is very abnormal.'_ Taknu thought then spoke, "Is everything alright Kazekage-sama, you don't seem well."

"The only thing wrong with me is the fact that the head medic is a complete and utter moron who doesn't seem capable of following even one simple order and it makes me think that it might just make my life so much easier to break his little twig neck." Gaara said coldly then continued with "You will go tell than Haruno girl to leave this village now and return to Kohana where she will be of use there." And with that final note Gaara turned and walked out of the door leaving the medic with a room full of flying papers and splinters of wood lying on the floor.

Ignoring the pink haired girl's words about visiting his sister Gaara turned and walked towards the front doors to the hospital. _'Now I just need to get back to my office and finish that damn pile of paperwork waiting for me.'_ He thought as he stepped out of the hospital ridding his nose of the stench of that place, he had never really liked hospitals, the smell bothered him, the shukaku loved it, he said is smelled of death and pain but a small part of Gaara didn't enjoy the smell of pain that he didn't cause himself.

'Haruno Sakura, Haruno Sakura, please report to the head medics office, Haruno Sakura, please report to the head medics office.'

Sakura raised her head to look at the speaker blurting out her name and set down the chart she was holding into the slot on the desk in front of her and turned to the nurse sitting at the desk, "Can you please go remove the stitches in Mr.Aruki's arm? He is in room 126."

"Yes, doctor." The nurse said but glared at Sakura when she turned around to walk back down the hallway.

All of the nurses and other doctors felt somewhat intimidated by the blank expression of the cherry haired girl. They did what she said but hated her for it; they found it strange that she was the only person in this hospital with the demeanor of an ice cube. Then the one other problem that the all female staff had with Sakura was how much the handsome Taknu doted over her and she blatantly ignored him which infuriated the female staff because, they didn't as much affection from the most handsome man in the hospital and the girl he gave it too seemed to take it for granted and ignored him. Most of the staff would swoon when Taknu was even mentioned but this girl wouldn't even move let alone fall into his lap like everyone else.

Sakura wasn't stupid; she knew that the nurse had given her a fire filled glare when her back was turned. She knew that many of the staff, if not all, didn't like her. She didn't really know why, but she didn't really care much either. She had only cared about one person's opinion of her, Naruto. What anyone said about her didn't matter as long as he was proud of her. Just thinking of him made her eyes sting and she quickly blinked and stepped into Taknu's office.

For the first time Taknu seemed sad as Sakura stepped through the doorway. He usually doted all over her, spilling affection and charm but this time he was sitting at his desk looking directing into her eyes.

"Yes." Sakura said in more of a statement that she was there than a question of why.

Taknu took a deep breath and began, "It has been brought to my notice that you are making the staff of this hospital and some citizens of Suna very uncomfortable with your…demeanor. So I have been told to tell you that you must return to Kohana, now. I'm sorry but…I have to fire you. You must leave in the next hour. Sakura, this wasn't my choice and I regret everything I'm saying. I'm sorry."

Dead silence filled the room until a chuckle ripped through the heavy air like a knife.

"He couldn't take it could he?"

Taknu looked up in shock to hear a noise come from the 'expressionless void', which was becoming Sakura's new nickname when she wasn't around. He even saw a glint of pitiful laughter in her unpolished emerald eyes. Then she turned around, let out one more laugh, which surprised Taknu as much as the first one did, left the room, and was gone.

She didn't have anyone to say goodbye too, barely anything to collect, excepting her backpack and clothes, and nothing to remember or forget. There was Gaara, the sad, scared, and angry Kage. He was a man who put a bad name to people like Naruto. Everyone was scared of the demon inside of him but realized that he was the one who controlled it, but if they glanced at Gaara they would see the very opposite. He was the one being controlled by the beast, and he would do anything it told him to, she would remember him, but not very fondly.

She stood at the gates to the village of Suna and stepped out into the desert dunes, leaving all of its inhabitants behind without saying a word, it was like she was never really there and truthfully in Sakura's mind she wasn't. Ever since that day she had been nowhere, wandering in her own little empty world.

The sand dunes were very large and took up a great amount of the trip back to Kohana. Sakura walked trying not to notice how hot the sun was on the back of her neck. It was so quiet and then little words sprang into her head, forming into a song, a song she heard before, but one she couldn't place. Then she heard herself singing, quietly.

"And the taste of dried-up hopes in my mouth

And the landscape of merry and desperate drought

How much longer dear angels

Let winter light come

And spread your white sheets over my empty house…"

The rest of the song wouldn't come to her but she felt happy knowing she still had a voice inside of her, even if it was just a tiny one.

"Tsunade-sama?" Sakura inquired as she stepped through the Hokage's doorway in Kohana.

"Sakura? What are you doing back here?! You should be in Suna!" Tsunade stood up as she heard Sakura's voice, the reasons because she wanted to find out her story and because she really couldn't see Sakura because of the large untidy piles of papers and books on the table in front of her.

"They requested I come back."

"WHAT? You are the best medic in history, other than me, why would they do that? There is no reason!"

Sakura's mind flashed, remembering the Kage's brutal treatment of her and unconsciously she rubbed her neck where a large bruise was harboring, it felt fine, but the discoloration was there and that was the only thing Sakura needed to do to get Tsunade's bat eyes trained on it. Tsunade launched herself across the room to Sakura and pulled her head up; she eyed the purple, now turning yellow, bruise.

In a dangerously low voice that petrified most, if not all, Kohana inhabitance Tsunade asked, "What happened."

"Nothing, it's fine. On the way back to Kohana I hit my neck on a branch." Sakura replied. She didn't know why she wasn't spilling out what the leader of the sand village did to her.

"Don't lie. What really happened, if you don't tell me I will find out. You know it too Sakura. This bruise wraps around your neck, a branch wouldn't do that. It is like you were strung up or something."

Sakura lowered her head and looked at Tsunade, "It's fine, it's over, I'm back, don't worry." She said.

Tsunade's eyes flashed. "Don't make me call in Lee. I will you know." And without waiting for an answer Tsunade called in Shizune and said, "Will you get Lee? Tell him Sakura's back." Shizune grinned the same evil grin as Tsunade and disappeared. In just a few seconds Lee was at the door, in the room, and in front of Sakura talking as fast as he could, without allowing himself to breath.

"SAKURA! How are you? We missed you! Why are you back? Are you feeling okay? What happened in Suna? We missed you! Everyone will be excited to know that you are back! Are you back for good? Did you just get here? SAKURA WE MISSED YOU!"

"LEE!!!" Tsunade shouted. Lee stopped his constant stream of questions and turned to Tsunade.

"Hai?"

Tsunade looked at Sakura, she was surprised that Sakura had just stood there with no facial expression against Lee's wave of emotion but she could swear that Sakura's eyes narrowed just the slightest bit as she looked at her protégé. "Lee, you should leave, Sakura was injured." Tsunade casually mentioned.

Lee's eyes went directly to Sakura's neck and he threw a fit, asking every single question in the world, even ones that made no sense. "What time was it? Where were you? What day? How?" It was as is the questions were pouring from his mouth.

"LEE!" and once again Lee turned to the now tipsy Tsunade. She had been drinking the whole time Lee had been talking, which was a considerable amount of time and her eyes were a little dimmer. "You may go now," She said with a wave of her hand, "but first I have an assignment, go to Suna and request that the Kage come to Kohana now. Tell him that I need to discuss some matters with him."

"Yosh!" Lee saluted. "Bye Sakura! I will run as swift as the wind or even faster so I can come back to you!" and with that, he was gone.

After a minute of silence Sakura's soft voice was heard, "How did you know?"

"Please. You're talking to me for god's sake! Anyway, those bruises are visibly bigger than a human hand span or a 'tree branch'. Also, even though you tried to hide it, you tensed a little at the mention of Gaara's name, so I easily came," she took a swig of sake and then continued, "to the conclusion that, that bastard was the one that had harmed you and the only," she drained the bottle and grabbed another one from off the floor, "reason that I am not there now and kicking his sorry little ass is because we cant afford a war with Suna right now so, that is why he is coming back here for 'a chat'. Now go home and get some rest, come back to see me tomorrow when you are ready."

Sakura nodded and left the room. The streets were alive with bustle but Sakura weaved through alleys and secret places to get home fast and not have to explain anything to anyone. Once she arrived at home she quickly shut the door behind her and without changing, slipped into her bed. Immediately she relaxed a little and turned over to stare at the empty place besides her, but it wasn't empty.

Naruto sat staring at the limp form of his wife, he said slowly, "What are you doing? You are letting him do that? You changed, and it is disappointing."

Then he was gone leaving a wet faced Sakura to continue to stare at the wall, wishing that her tormented mind would stop, hoping that her head would realize that the mirages were tormenting her more and more. '_I'm not trying hard enough? What does he want from me?!'_ One sob escaped her lips as she buried her head underneath her pillow. Disappointing, a word she hoped she had outgrown but now here it was coming from the man that she loved so dear that only he mattered. She didn't want that, she would prove him wrong if it was the only ting she could do, she wanted him to smile down on her and be proud. She turned over and stared at the picture of her wedding day, she wanted to be that happy again, she wanted to be strong.

_Yosh! Now Sakura has some life! . _

_R&R! Remember, next chapter doesn't go up until you guys review!_

_-SW_


End file.
